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A review by seclement
Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre
4.0
This book provides a sobering account of a wide range of problems with the pharmaceutical industry. It isn't sensationalist nor is it conspiratorial - because it doesn't need to be. Goldacre does a brilliant job of outlining the problems, providing evidence to support his claims where possible, and noting where data is lacking. All of that is more than can be said of the industry he is writing about.
If you read and enjoyed Bad Science, you will probably notice that this book is not nearly as entertaining. It is still written in Goldacre's trademark style, i.e. very clear, concise, and witty. But it is also much longer (yes, I just said concise and longer - bear with me) because he is trying to deliver a much more in-depth analysis of a particular industry. With Bad Science he provided a broad survey of the quackery landscape, whereas Bad Pharma drills down into the bad behaviour of just one industry. The humour is still there in Bad Pharma, but it is darker, and the content even more depressing. At times deeply so.
What I have to commend most about this book is how it always sums things up with answers. I was always taught that you shouldn't complain about problems unless you've thought about solutions. Of course there will be disagreement with the solutions he proposes, and he doesn't outline every potential fix. But he provides more than enough material to start the conversation, and move from criticism to productive reform. I don't know if the book will have an impact, but I certainly hope it does.
If you read and enjoyed Bad Science, you will probably notice that this book is not nearly as entertaining. It is still written in Goldacre's trademark style, i.e. very clear, concise, and witty. But it is also much longer (yes, I just said concise and longer - bear with me) because he is trying to deliver a much more in-depth analysis of a particular industry. With Bad Science he provided a broad survey of the quackery landscape, whereas Bad Pharma drills down into the bad behaviour of just one industry. The humour is still there in Bad Pharma, but it is darker, and the content even more depressing. At times deeply so.
What I have to commend most about this book is how it always sums things up with answers. I was always taught that you shouldn't complain about problems unless you've thought about solutions. Of course there will be disagreement with the solutions he proposes, and he doesn't outline every potential fix. But he provides more than enough material to start the conversation, and move from criticism to productive reform. I don't know if the book will have an impact, but I certainly hope it does.